Iran Wants Inspection of Possible Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Another country is now alleging the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The country is Iran.

However, unlike the U.S., Israel, Britain and France, which have all accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of attacking civilians with deadly agents, Tehran suggests the blame rests with the Syrian opposition.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made the assertion Wednesday and demanded a United Nations investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons. The U.N. says it wants to conduct a probe but has been stymied by the al-Assad regime.

Salehi went as far as alleging that a "red line" had been crossed in Syria, an expression used by other governments in describing when more definitive action should be taken.

Iran supports al-Assad's attempts to stay in power and has been accused by Washington of using Iraqi airspace to transport weapons to the Syrian army. In turn, the U.S. had demanded that Baghdad check all cargo from Syrian planes before allowing them to continue on.